Chapter 192

"Out of everyone who's ever lost a Shadow Duel, this Titan might just be the one who came out of it worst..."

Chazz and Bastion couldn't help wrapping their arms around themselves, shuddering, as they watched Titan get completely swallowed and buried beneath that swarm of black, ghostly faces before vanishing entirely.

Bastion and Professor Crowler, both of whom had lost Shadow Duels themselves before, felt a fresh wave of retrospective fear wash over them. Thank goodness whatever they'd gone through hadn't been quite that... disturbing.

"Rowan, is that my brother's sealed memory?"

After shuddering at the same sight, Alexis quickly turned her attention to the small golden orb of light resting in Rowan's hand. The others' eyes followed hers.

If they hadn't already lived through several bizarre Shadow Duel incidents recently, none of them would have believed for a second that something like this, sealing away a fragment of a person's memory, could actually exist. And the fact that this particular fragment happened to involve Rowan himself made it all the stranger.

"Going by the terms of the Shadow Duel wager, this should be it."

Rowan nodded at Alexis's question. Then a faintly puzzled, slightly awkward look crossed his face as he turned the orb over in his hand, examining it, before raising the one truly important question.

"The real problem is, how exactly am I supposed to use this thing?"

"..." Atticus, Jaden, and Chazz all wore matching blank expressions at that, glancing at each other in confusion.

They'd all just realized the same crucial gap. None of them knew how to use it either.

Even though Atticus had recovered his memories from the period he'd spent under Darkness's control, all he really had to go on was some general knowledge about how Shadow Duels worked.

"If you want to restore that girl's brother's memory, all you need to do is place the orb sealing it directly against his body."

At that moment, the ghostly figure of the Gravekeeper's Assailant, Ishizu, materialized beside Rowan, offering the tip.

"Kuri kuri!"

The round Kuriboh appeared on his other side as well, nodding its tiny head in agreement with a cheerful cry.

"That's really all it takes...?" Rowan's mouth twitched as he muttered the complaint.

If even the round Kuriboh already knew this much, it was clearly common knowledge among Duel Spirits. After all, aside from its uniquely sharp instinct for sensing malice, the little guy didn't have a whole lot of experience in other areas. It couldn't hold a candle to Ishizu, the Gravekeeper's Assailant, who was well versed in the art of assassination and carried the accumulated knowledge of her entire clan.

After that brief grumble, Rowan gently sent the golden orb of light drifting toward Atticus, who could also see Duel Spirits and had already been informed of the situation, standing there waiting expectantly.

VWOOM!!

The instant the golden orb reached him, it sank straight into Atticus's chest. He immediately clutched his head, wincing slightly as if from a mild headache.

"Brother!"

"Atticus!"

Alexis and his close friend Zane both stared intently, watching for any change. It didn't take long. After a brief moment of discomfort, Atticus let out a breath and straightened up, looking fully recovered. When he opened his eyes again, something in his gaze had shifted. Gone was the faint haziness that had lingered there before, replaced by a warmth and gentleness that hadn't quite been there previously.

"Brother, how are you feeling?" Alexis's face lit up with relief. Just from that change in his eyes alone, she already had a good feeling about this.

"Sorry, Alexis. I made you worry."

Once he'd fully recovered, Atticus immediately turned to apologize to his sister. Then he turned to face Rowan, his expression sincere and grateful.

"I know I spent a whole day laid up in the infirmary being tormented, but really, thank you for this, Rowan."

"Ahem... let's leave out that part about spending a day in the infirmary, shall we."

Rowan cleared his throat, looking a little embarrassed.

"Actually, come to think of it, if you're up for it, how about becoming my brother-in-law as a thank you?"

Barely two seconds into being serious, Atticus's usual goofball tendencies came roaring right back, and he turned to Rowan with a thoughtful, scheming look on his face.

"My sister's right about the age where she ought to start looking for a proper match, you know!"

Atticus shook his head with the exaggerated, worried air of an older brother fretting that his sister's standards were too high and she might never find anyone.

"Brother...!" Alexis's face flushed red with a startled cry, a vein practically popping on her forehead as she clenched her fists, an aura of genuine menace beginning to radiate off her.

"On second thought, maybe you were better off with the amnesia."

Her voice came out laced with a chill sharp enough to make Atticus shudder and immediately clam up.

Now that his memories were back, he'd pieced together, from various fragments and impressions left over from his time with amnesia, a pretty good read on what was going on in his sister's heart. He'd figured he'd use the moment to help nudge things along a little.

But seeing the fist his sister was currently clenching, Atticus quickly decided it was probably best to behave himself for now. Better not to stir up trouble at a moment like this.

"Rowan, please just ignore whatever my brother just said," Alexis said, sounding thoroughly exasperated with her sibling as she turned to Rowan.

"Uh... right!"

If Alexis's forehead hadn't still had that vein throbbing on it, looking ready to throw a punch at any second, Rowan mused, he honestly wouldn't have minded taking his goofball future brother-in-law up on that little assist just now.